Consultancy project leads to world leading sustainability commitment by SSEN Transmission

Following a sustainability strategy project lead by Professor Iain Black (SBS) and involving Dr Jamie Speirs  (Centre for Energy policy) and Hari Risal (SBS), SSEN Transmission have committed to a world leading new approach to calculating their corporate environmental footprint.  

This approach - the 'fair share of Earth systems boundaries - requires an organisation to consider their impact on Planetary and earth systems boundaries when measuring their organisational environmental footprint and the societal good they are creating.

Professor Black said, "In a world of ‘world leading’ and ‘transformational' claims, the commitment of SSEN Transition to measure their environmental impact according to their fair share of planetary boundaries stands out.  We are rapidly approaching 2 degrees of warming, and we have moved beyond the safe operating space for humanity in five other Earth systems. The Earth systems boundaries approach to footprinting essentially says that with so little global carbon budget left, countries, regions, cities, and organisations need to justify their emissions based on the good they are doing with them.

"For SSEN to take this approach is absolutely world leading as it seeks to implement advice published by world leading climate scientists in 2024. It raises the bar significantly regarding footprint measurement for infrastructure and energy structure companies globally as well going beyond the approach taken by every business in the UK and well beyond what is asked for in the Science Based Targets Initiative.

"This work will not be easy but it is what the planet needs.  I am very much looking forward to this ongoing project."

Published: 20 November 2024